The Curse of Knight Prince Vladimir
by Raevyn Blackthorn
Summary: I have heard requests to move this story, so finally it is being done. It's a bit different though as it had to be rewritten. Kagome knew Alucard many, many years ago, when he was still a prince, still mortal. Now with the knowledge of death on her side can she save him, both from his masters and himself?
1. I once was Life

A distant rushing of air faint and deafening, is all the ears perceive. There is no other sound than the single inhalation of breath.

They say I was born in the light, delivered in gleaming silver and heralded by the songs of angels. A fan fair of coronets announced my birth and cheering citizens were my first sight of the world. I was born an heiress , the one joy of my otherwise childless parents. I was the continuance of their blessed and holy blood. The future ruler of their great but falling kingdom,the sign of their return to the favor of god. I was born to be a savior and a symbol to the people that my family was once more blessed.

I was born to be... I was not.

the pulling groan of a bow string being drawn echo's louder than the intake of breath. It brings with it a slowing of time... So little time now

I was born to the light, the Fae, a blessing upon their holy lineage, but my soul was marked by darkness even from first breaths. A devil they called me, mine own blood, my parents even. Far was I kept from kith and kin alike. Farther still was I kept from the children in the town surrounding the castle. I was forced into the shadows, but I cared not. I was even grateful for in the dark of the shadow I found Vladimir.

there is solid stone beneath, dust kicked up by the harshness of the run. It's a race now, a race against the bowman. The panic sets in, a panic that chokes the senses...makes one desperate

Vladimir the third of Sadic, to most a cold unfeeling man and prideful prince. Sinister in his war strategy and merciless to his foes, he was a man to be wary of. To me he was kind in his own way, and I knew with out question that he loved me with a devotion none thought him capable of.

the sharp snap of the bowstring deafens. It is a sprint now, a race against time... The panic claws deeper, clouds the mind just that last bit more

In my adult hood my parents thought to arrange a marriage to a foreign prince that was firmly Fae. They hoped that being bonded to such a creature would chance my devilry from me, and I would at last be a child worthy of my blood. I refused point blank and informed them of my love for Vladimir. My mother was appalled that I could love such a man, my father was less surprised. He arranged a duel between the two princes for my hand. Vladimir won in fairly shirt order, having been trained as a knight. His enemy's head on the ground and his blade gleaming crimson in the fading sun. As the crowd cheered, I alone saw the slain princes brother rise from his seat bow in hand. It was my heart alone that ceased to beat, as a murderous prince drew back his bow, ladden with an arrow.

a single moment passes, a simple blurring of seconds, in which a thousand choices are made. Most small, some vital, and one, in that single instant, that would change a man's life...forever

So great was my love for him, so truly was my heart his, that I leapt into the path of the arrow and took his death upon my self. The piercing of my chest burned in a distant sort of way, drowned out by my relief that my beloved would live. I heard for an instant the rushing of my own heart and the the sound was lost in the coating of armor , as Vladimir caught my falling form.

a blur of silver hair and a splashed of red blood signal the end. The race is won, the panic fades and the final stroke falls. The bells which toll the end are joined by screams, time has run out

Blood spilled over my pale lips as the distant sound of bells filled the air. I could hear the cries of my mother and the snick of a blade as the murderous prince was ended. Vladimir lowered my body to the ground my head laid gently on his shoulder. I heard my lady's maid trying to calm my mother as I looked up into the charcoal eyes I loved so well and smiled weakly .

" Why? Why would you do this raven mine?" He asked me. His voice was cold but I knew that even then his despair was consuming him.

"Because, I love you, so very much. You've protected me from everyone always. For once you needed protecting, what else could I do but jump," I answered, whispering faintly.

"Do you think I'll live?"

Sorrow and loss filled his eyes as he examined the wound, darkening his charcoal to onyx. I could feel his misery as sharply as I should have felt the arrow but all I felt of that was the fluttering of my dying heart.

"No, no my dearest, you will not live beyond this night," he whispered in my ear, "you will fade and my world shall be darker for it."

I could hear it, in his soft whisper, the shattering of his heart. It was a terrible tragic howling of pain that only I could hear.

"I,'all always love you," I choked, "even into my death."

Blackness covered my eyes and a silence such as I'd never known filled my ears. I was born in the light, heralded by angel songs and coronets but it was the darkness that carried me on swift wings to my death and only silence heralded me there.


	2. I now am Death

Vladimir watched as his beloveds eyes slid forever closed, never again to open and drown him in endless cobalt again. The hand she handout unknowingly placed on his cheek began to fall, no longer did her will hold it there. Agony in his eyes, he caught her hand and placed the still warm palm to his cheek. He did not shed tears for her loss, to private a man was he to show such weakness before others.

"It's your fault," a female voice screamed, "your fault that my daughter is dead. She was supposed to marry Auden and become a proper Fae! But you just had to fight for her," the queen raged.

"Listen here, I fought for the woman I love. The only reason she is dead is because some coward tried to kill me from behind and in her love for me sought to save my life," Vladimir growled.

" if you had just stayed out of it this would never have happened. I've lost my only child thanks to you,, my only daughter. You corrupted her you foul being," the broken mother roared.

" nothing you can do can ever be worse than the moment I saw that arrow pierce her heart," Vladimir said hoarsely

" My Raven, she was so afraid of becoming light. She was terrified she wouldn't be able to defend herself. My sweet baby, she never realized its just as easy to hurt some one with life as it is with death. I curse you, Vladimir III, with never ending life. Life eternal to be lived in the blackest shadows and bought with innocent blood. I cast this curse using mine own blood to see it done," the queen cried, " never again will you rest. you will suffer all your days with the knowledge that you will never see her again."

With her last words said she vanished in a shower of glimmering dust and shinning glass, her curse set and her power forcing him to live. No one said a word, not even when the now cursed prince lifted his love into his arms and carried her to the cliff side, a pyre already standing for the loser of the duel. With all care he laid her gently down and placed a single loving kiss upon her brow.

The many in attendance, each one in mournful silence, brought forth flowers that had once been for a victorious prince. They fell quietly behind the prince as a Solis began a hymn to the night in her honor. Vladimir raised a silent prayer to her, a prayer that begged her forgiveness and for those divine with whom she now walked to watch over her.

It was a dark and shadowed realm that met her sleep filled eyes when she opened them. And as dark as it was she still was blinded by the light of it.

"It is a curious thing, that to those who spend their life in the dark, it becomes as bright as day," a shallow gravelled voice said, " You are Raven yes. The little dark mage who was born to a light family. You leapt before an arrow to save the one you love."

"Yes," she answered calmly.

"You are to come with me, there is one here who has wished to meet you," the voice said. Suddenly the harshness of the light faded and revealed a deep gray stone archway with great obsidian doors. Upon those doors, in laid in gleaming white marble, was a sigil she often saw in her dreams.

It was a constellation of stars that formed a snake like creature. Underneath it, upon a gleaming banner, were the words:

"Qui omnes homines ante fores"

Shaking slightly she opened the door and came face to face with a creature her parents insisted did not exist.

"My sweet child, I am glad to see you at last. It saddens me to see you so soon though, you should not have come to this realm forquite a while," he said, " ask me child, I'm sure you have questions."

"Why do you keep calling me your child," she asked blinking up at him.

"I should have known they would keep it from you. Your parents, well adoptive parents, were unable to conceive children. It was a curse laid upon them by their dark wider enemies. Desperate for an heir and a continuance of their line they performed and ancientnritual to summon a being of power. They attempted to summon an angel, they succeded in summoning me," he explained, " I could not lift the curse from your father but I could give them a child. Your mother reluctantly agreed to lie with me, her mind already filled with images of a perfect light child. I knew that in their ignorance they would one day push you so far into darkness you would be driven into my arms."

"What are you? Who are you," she asked.

"I am the end of all things, I am Death," he said, " Azrael,


	3. Once more the world I roam

" Azrael, but i thought you said that they didn't succeed in summoning an angel," Raven said.

" I haven't thought of my self as an angel in so many years that I forgot humans still did," he sighed. Raven sat in stunned silence as she tried to

cope with the knowledge that she was Death's child. The information didn't shock her as much as she thought it should but it still packed quite a

punch. Then she had a thought, an idea of how to be sure that he was who he said he was.

"If you are Death then tell me, what has happened to my Vladimir," she asked, " Is he safe?" The man who claimed to be her father gave her a sad look and gently laid a palm on her cheek.

" Child, no, my Raven, your mother was devastated by your loss. She used cursed magic to use a part of her very soul and place a curse. She sentenced your Vladimir to eternal life. I tried to break him free of it but gods far more powerful than I have granted her her final wish at the price of her death. His death will never come for him now, he will never know this place," he answered.

"What do I do? i can't just leave him to suffer this torment alone! I can't just leave him behind, i can't," she cried.

" Hush now child, I would never ask such a thing of you. I am your father, and because of this you have enough divinity in you to allow me a few privileges. I have the ability to craft for you a new form, one with complete divinity, that is nearly the same as your previous self. When it is completed I will place you, wandering soul that you are, into this new form and send you forth into the mortal realm once more to watch over him. because your new form will be drowned in my divinity you will not die, my servants can not reap their own kind, and will not step foot in this place again except when you have no other option," he explained, " Fear not for I shall visit you often, you need only say my name and i will come."

" I still have my doubts about you being my father, even though it makes sense, but i will do anything for Vladimir," she said softly, reverantly.

" Go out and explore, learn all you can little bird, and when I am finished I will send for you," Death said.

Years passed in the blink of an eye, for both Raven and Vladimir. Raven wandered all of Death's realms and learned much from the great scholars of the world. She made new friends left and right, learning from older spirits and playing with the young ones who passed before their time. Even as she had such fun, coming into her powers and laughing with her new family, she worried for her love. Every passing year made her more and more eager to be by his side. She often watched the dark painted sky of the underworld waiting for her fathers call.

Vladimir did not pass the years as peacfully. he ruled his lands for may centuries, the others like him who had been born with his curse showing themselves and following his rule. He was tough but fair and much beloved until a family from the branches of his Raven's mother captured his lands and his person. They experimented on him, pushing him to his limits until he had none, and nothing of his self remained untarnished by madness. Only his memory of his love stayed clean, but it was lost in the dark depths of his mind.

It was with this news, and the news of seven centuries passing that Death called forth his only child to his lab.

" Raven," he laughed when she arrived, " I have finally done it! I have crafted you a perfect form and completed a backstory for you. You are known as Kagome Higurashi, a young woman fresh out of college, who is searching for employment in the private sector of security. You are interviewing with Integra Hellsing directly upon your arrival there. Now, It's been 7 hundred years since the day you fell in the mortal realm, so your manners may seem a bit odd to them. ignore it and stay true to your self. Vladimir is...different than when you knew him. He has been captured and tortured by blood of your mother's blood. He is a hunter now, of those whom he once protected and those who would steal a title that belongs only to him," Azrael explained to her. With a flurish he pulled a white sheet from the table behind him and exposed a beautiful creature lying on the hard metal.

" This is your new body, Black hair, pale skin and cobalt eyes. I had to change your hair, nothing so purely silver as your previous color exsists here. So I went with its polar opposite, Onyx black," he laughed.

" Thank you father," she said, finally accepting that Death was her parent. Azrael teared up a bit at hearing his baby finally call him father.

" be safe little bird, and don't let them scare you or put you down," he said softly.

" I will be alright, and if I need help I'll call you," she laughed.

" I will miss you, and so will this place. This may be the last time you ever see your home," Death said, giving her a hug. With an ashen tear and a flash of green light that turned night to day his precious child was gone, with only her brother to guard her.

It was a disorienting feeling, being one moment in the cool comfort of her home, and the next assaulted by the sun of the mortal world. She came through the veil standing before the doors of an impressive manor. She rang the bell with shaking hands and waited for some one to come fetch her. She didn't wait long before the butler opened the door and asked her to follow him. He correctly assumed that she was the young lady here for an interview and introduced himself as Walter Dornez, as they walked through the home to an office with a single occupant.

It was a pale blonde woman with long hair and a serious expression, one that reminded her very strongly of her aunt, sitting at a dark wood desk. She was sorting through various forms of paper work when walter knocked on the open door.

"Yes Walter," she said looking up from her desk.

"Miss Kagaome Higurashi has arrived for her interview," he answered.

" Ah yes the new hopeful for our 'special' security team. bring her in," Integra ordered. Walter gave her a little nudge and she walked in with an uncommon grace.

" Tell me girl what kind of power do you have, that you would ask to join my special forces," The blonde asked.

" I am what the very unoriginal would call a priestess. I like to think of my self as something a bit more...threatening. I can heal and place barriers but they are not my strong suit. I can pull things from the shadows," she said as she drew her favorite blade from the shadows of a paperweight," travel through them and on occasion I can manipulate the dead." Her last comment was proven by pulling Alucard from his hiding place in the darkest corner of the room.

" how very interesting. If you will submit to a mental exam via our man here, I think you have the job," Integra said with a smirk. Having a necromancer on board could only be a good thing in her mind. Kagome turned her eyes to the one person she never thought she'd see again and allowed him into her mind.

tell me everything his deep voice sounded in her mind.


	4. With a black smoke pall in my wake

AN: It has been brought to my attention that some are confused as to how this is happening with sesshomaru in full view. I went back and re-read what i had written and noticed the character seemed forced and outside the natural flow so i decided to cut him out. Sorry about that he may enter the story later as something else but for now no Sesshy. Enjoy!

Kagome gave a small smile as she turned her cobalt gaze on him and opened her mind to his presence, wondering if he knew just yet who she was. He pushed rather harshly into her mind and was met with vast fields of black poplar trees and and silent souls. They shuffled aimlessly and with out end around him as he searched for the mental image of the woman his master was considering.

" The Greeks called it the fields of Asphodel, in truth it has no name. It is simply the resting place of those who wish not to face the judges, those who are afraid they will be found unworthy," A soft soprano voice called out. He turned and found the person he was looking for, Kagome Higurashi.

" The Silent Fields, and so accurately depicted as well," he said a well disguised longing in his voice.

" She isn't here you know, The Fields aren't meant for hero's," Kagome said, knowing he was looking for her.

" I know not of who you speak," he growled, " now open your mind to me."

" I would gladly let you in, if I could, but my mind holds the layout of death's realm complete to the last soul. only I may walk here unharmed," She said, holding her own so he would never know how much his denial of her hurt. Suddenly she felt their connection snap and break and she was plunged into the real world once more.

" Well," Integra demanded.

" Her mind is trapped,only she may safely traverse there," He answered.

" Interesting. Very Interesting that your mind is blocked from even him," Integra said with a smirk, " However we shall have to submit you to a demonstration of power as we can not know if you are lying about your more...extreme talents."

" I suppose you will not rest until you have proof," Kagome sighed. She hoped that Integra would not make her do something horrible to prove herself. She had already given them evidence that she could do what she said but like most humans, even the dead ones, they would not rest until they could see the maximum potential of her gifts. Her eyes drifted to her Vladimir and she felt a fresh stab of pain at how he had denied looking for her. How could he have forgotten her when she had never forgotten him. She gave a mental shake of the head to banish those thoughts and focused back on Integra who was reaching the end of her explanation of what Kagome would have to do to be accepted on a trial period of employment.

" ... You will be going against Alucard to show us what you're made of, I do hope you're up for it," Integra said with a smirk. Kagome's eyes widened with pain as she looked to the man she loved.

" It is a painful, impossible task that you set me, A task I will only take part in this one time," She said with sadness in her voice. Integra gave a confused nod and motioned for them to follow her to the training grounds. They reached a vast empty field rather quickly and faced off against each other as they listened to Integra tell them it was a battle for fifth blood. They stared each other down, planning the defeat of their foe and how to accomplish it in the quickest manner. Kagome began the battle with a running charge, a look of both sadness and determination in her eyes. That look , so familliar but impossible, brought forth more memories of his beloved from so long ago. He hissed and aimed a blow for her face, desperate to be rid of that painful reminder that he would never see her again. The hit connected drawing blood from her nose but not breaking it, her retaliatory kick hit his jaw, knocking one of his teeth out. First blood for them both. They backed away from each other to regroup, and she locked her gaze upon him once more, that same look on her face.

Alucard started it this time, by using his shadows to attack her like spears. She drew her blade from her own shadows and cut them away with out difficulty meeting him in a deadlock a streak of blood on both their cheeks from their opposing blows. The look in her eyes, holding more sadness with every hit she landed was infuriating. How dare this little upstart try and play at being his Raven!

" Stop this," he hissed at her as he cut into her side, dodging the wide swing of her sword, " Stop giving me that look. STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE YOU'RE HER!"

He grabbed her by the throat in his anger, not noticing that she didn't even struggle to get away from him, as he lifted her from the ground. She teared up in joy that he remembered her and choked out a question to him.

" What have they done to you," she whispered softly for him alone to hear, her breath leaving her and none coming back, " H-How cruel have they b-been to you , that you don't recognize me." Those burning traitorous tears in her eyes fell as she reached out for his face as her vision started to go dark. His shock was evident as his grip failed and she fell to the ground.

" No, " he snarled, " No you died Seven hundred and twelve years ago! You died, I held you in my arms as the light left your eyes!"

" Alucard what is the meaning of this," Integra demanded.

" She's not supposed to be alive! She died, in my arms, bled to death saving my human life and took my beating heart to the grave with her," Alucard raged.

" V-Vladimir...look in my mind...you knew me once...Look," she coughed gasping in breaths.

Ruthlessly he ripped into her mind and found her sobbing in a dark court yard, white roses budding from the ground where her tears fell.

" Who are you," he roared, " Kagome! Raven! Tell me the truth, WHO ARE YOU?"

" RAVEN," she screamed with a sob, " always , always raven. My father gave me the name Kagome so none who sought me could find me." She gripped his arm tightly and looked up at him with pleading cobalt eyes.

" please, please don't leave me! I tried so hard to come back to you, i thought of you every day, please Don't leave me behind, Vladimir I beg you, don't leave me behind," She sobbed , her love for him and the sadness she felt at not being with him eating at her heart. Vladimir glared down at the distraught woman, trying to tell if what she said was the truth or not. a soft breeze swept through the courtyard bringing with it the petals of those roses that had sprouted as she cried. as they touched his skin her memories of the time with out him played before his eyes. he watched her cry herself to sleep , watched her isolate herself when the pain of missing him was to much, watched her stare at the sky and wonder if he was staring to.

When her memories ended he gathered the whimpering woman into his arms and crushed her to himself. He buried his nose in her hair and growled lowly trying to calm his distressed beloved.

" Shush my sweet, I will not leave you again. I have waited so many years to be with you again, so many years that i can not now fathom going on with out you by my side," he whispered to her , basking in her scent.

" Well that is good to hear, at least now I don't have to kill you for hurting her, though your master will be suffering for putting her through this," a graveled and menacing voice called out to him.

" Who is there," he said shifting his dazed love behind him.

" That would be me," the voice said as the form of Azrael stepped out of the shadows of the courtyard.


	5. And the red moon above as my guide

" Death," came the hushed acknowledgement from Alucard's lips.

" Yes Alucard, Death. One untouched by time," Azrael said with a grin.

" How is she still alive. I held her as she fled to your realm," the ancient vampire said with an old sadness in his voice.

" I am her Father, did you really think I wouldn't do everything for her? That I would let her slip quietly into my realm to sleep through eternity? No I knew of your fates near instantly and knew at the same moment my child was never meant for my realm," the angel explained as he gathered his still whimpering child from the arms of her love,"Now I believe I need to have words with your Master. Her attitude is not to be borne." Tightening his grip on his child he cast all of them from the depths of her mind and set them solidly into the outside world.

They came to the world with Integra threatening to shoot Alucard if explanations were not given this instant.

" That will be enough blood of my child's blood. Such threats are annoying most times and only infuriating at the moment," Azrael snarled.

" And who are you to order me about so," Integra snarled back.

" Why my dear Integra, I am your greatest fear, and inevitable end. I am that which is the end of all man, Death," he answers her. The silence that follows his statement is deafening in its totality. it feels as if even the birds and the wind have paused, fearful of his presence. The only movement is that of Alucard lifting Kagome's form into his arms wincing internally at each crackle of black lightening that heals the damage cause by both their duel and his rage. Azrael revels in the growing fear in Integra and her lackeys, feeling it only right that she suffer a little for forcing his sweet-ling into that fight.

" So, Integra Fairbrooke Wingates Hellsing. I'm guessing it was you who ordered that child to fight against one she has mourned for centuries," he said in a light voice that held as much warmth as a winter night.

" She wished to join my organization, I needed to test her skills," She said snidely.

" Well aren't you just the cruelest thing," he praised mockingly, " Shall I summon up the person you love most and order you to fight them. I'd imagine you'd feel about a millionth of what she has, after all her love was so great she died for him once and even i could not hold her in my realm."

" I was unaware that she even knew my servant," Integra said, shoving the spark of fear deep into the corners of her mind.

" Hmmm, yes i doubt you would have. As much as your family has tortured him I'm surprised he works with you," he said plainly.

" He is bound by my families blood, a brand that can not be undone," She smirked.

" Yes, not surprising that one of you figured out how to manipulate that. Your family made him what he is, long before Abraham found and bound him."

" What do you mean."

" It was the grief of your greatest Aunt that sentenced him to life everlasting, for daring to love her daughter, the young lady in his arms."

" That's impossible."

" No, its not. After her mother perished, her life setting the curse into permanency, it was the woman's sister who set the task to all of her line, to find a way to make the man who stole their last hope suffer. Abraham was the descendant who finally completed the task of his bloodline. He bound him to the blood they shared and thus began the torture your line has inflicted upon him unceasing."

" I haven't tortured him," Integra pointed out.

" No, You haven't but you are the first of your blood to give him that mercy. I know they told you the story. The story of a Dove who so loved a wolf that she betrayed her wings to be with him," Azrael said.

" Yes, The wolf cared for the dove but not enough and when the time came he used her love to force her in front of the hunter's arrow. He killed her," Integra finished.

" That's not true," Kagome's soft voice rang out, " I lept before that arrow on my own to save my prince's life." Integra felt a lingering yet small sense of guilt. Her family was built on a lies, all her life she had known that Hellsings always fought for good, fought against evil but if this certain fact of their history was false what else in their past was a cruel untruth?

Walter found them facing off in a small circle and approached them in silence. He handed a letter to Integra, once baring the mark of the Irish police, which she opened quickly. She read through it carefully and sighed at the incompetence of the human police force.

" Alucard, You're needed for a mission in Ireland. A vampire has taken over a building and flooded it with ghouls. You depart in fifteen minutes, be sure to take Seras and Kagome with you," She said as she turned to walk away from the trio of inhuman beings.

" Yes Master," he intoned dully. Integra could only hope that things would go back to normal soon.

Alucard and Kagome turned to Azrael to give their goodbyes. He gave a small chuckle and placed a kiss on his daughters forehead. He left them hoping that his not informing the little Hellsing that Kagome was his child was a good idea. The pair of lovers walked away from the damaged ground and back into the building hands held tight. The traversed the halls and the stairs until they reached the basement level.

" So, do tell who is this Seras," Kagome teased.

" She is a Child that I turned. She got between my bullet and its target through no fault of her own, so I gave her the choice I couldn't give you. Live in the night or fade into the eternal dark," he said.

" I think its pretty obvious what she chose," Kagome smiled.

" Yes, I think it is," he smirked. They approached an unassuming door behind which they could hear a faint singing, off key and in Latin.

" What is that song," Kagome asked when Alucard gave a groan.

" The song of parting for the tenth doctor in the human show doctor who. You'd think with how much she whined over his death she'd avoid that song like the plague," he huffed. Annoyed at his fledgling, he kicked open her door and laughed as she jumped a foot in the air with a sharp yelp. Kagome laughed along with the master vampire while he gave a low growl at his Child's lack of attention.

" Police Girl. this is Kagome, she's coming with us on our mission. Get ready," he growled.

" Master are you su-," She started.

" Just get ready for the mission and don't question me," he coldly interrupted. Angry that the girl thought that he would let harm come to his beloved he pulled Kagome closer to his form and phased them to his room, a low growl escaping his throat. Kagome unperturbed by the sudden shift in location only bore her throat to him and he nuzzled into her, taking in a scent he thought never to smell again.

In a discarded mirror kagome saw his burning red eyes fade to that deep stormy grey that had always enchanted her. She whispered her love for the color into his ear and sighed as he held her closer. He released his hold only enough to lift her face, their gazes locking, before he pressed his lips to hers almost violently for the first time in centuries. She didn't hesitate, or flinch back in shock, she only met his desperate kiss with one of her own, pouring all her love and un-tempered longing into her silent reply. Tears burned beneath her lashed at all the sorrow and helplessness she sensed in his embrace. They fell in silent rivulets down her cheeks as she felt every nuance of his love for her and just how much he had missed her. She placed a hand upon his face, so very much like the moment of her death, and lowered his face into her neck, knowing of his hunger for her life's blood, the last proof that she truly was here with him.

He pressed a gentle kiss upon her pale neck and prepared her for his marking of her. He bit into her fast, to lessen the pain with the shock of it, and she gasped but made no move to pull away from him. Fear never crossed her mind or tainted her scent, she knew somewhere in the haze of her mind that he was dangerous and unstable, but she had unyielding faith that he wouldn't hurt her. He was a predator, at the top of his food chain, but she couldn't feel anything but safe in his arms.

She'd come to terms long ago, with the fact that she would never be frightened of him, even if it was his hands that ended her.


	6. I follow the sorrowful cry of a raven

Coming to terms did not mean that she was not overwhelmed by just what she felt for him. The realm of death had a curious habit of dulling the emotions of all who walked it's paths. All the desperate longing she had felt while she was with her father was but a fraction of what she felt now, the full impact of her feeling serving to make her knees falter as she half fell to the ground. Alucard released her quickly so he might catch her, fearful that he'd accidentally taken to much from his little love. It was a valid worry, for the moment her blood had touched his tongue he knew he'd be forever addicted. She was so sweet and so pure that she burned his throat like a fine whiskey, with just a hint of something citrusy that hinted that she was more than human.

Worried her checked her over and found that it wasn't blood loss that had weakened her, but the depth of her own emotion that had done so. Emotion that he caused, so with a smile he held her tighter to his frame and showed her a part of himself he was certain had died with her. He stroked her dark tresses and felt a small shock when she whispered to him.

" Vladimir, I love you. I have always loved you," She whispered dazed.

" And I you my sweet Raven queen. Through all the long years I have loved none but you," he answered and pressed a softer shorter kiss to her bruised lips. A knock on his door caught their attention, the world around them coming into focus as they came down from their emotional high.

" Alucard, may I enter," Walter's voice called. With a sigh he allowed him entry to his rooms, pulling away from his love to open the heavy doors.

" Do cheer up, I come bearing a gift," the aged butler said ," Miss Higurashi if you would." Excited Kagome lifted the lid of the case and drew a well crafted sword. She turned, the blade gleaming in the dim light as it to shifted in her hand, and gave Walter a confused look.

" I already have a sword," she said drawing her own blade from her shadows once again.

" Sir Integra insisted you might like a second, a more obvious weapon to trick an enemyinto believing you're unarmed if they divest you of that blade," he explained.

" Ahh I get it," she muttered.

" Now this blade is blessed steel, tempered in holy oil and consecrated by a gathering of seven priests," Walter says as he gives Kagome her sword and sheath. Kagome takes a few half hearted swings with the the blade, then in a move both terrifying and beautiful she flipped the sword and preformed a glorious arc of acrobatics ending with the blade perfectly poised at Alucard's throat.

Alucard's eyes burned a deep fiery red , but not in anyway with anger. Fierce pride overwhelmed him that his dear one had trained herself in his once favored art, the hot flash of lust the came with it was all for the fact that his chosen one could fight and fight well. The sight of her attack on an invisible enemy set him aflame. Kagome seemed to know this , as she back flipped away from him before he could turn and catch her. She offered only a light giggle as she flutter away from his reaching hands.

" Miss Higurashi, if you would. Your transport leaves in ten minutes, please be ready to depart," Walter said as he left the room.

" So, Where are we going," Seras asked in the helicopter.

" We have been ordered to eliminated a fake vampire in Ireland. He's taken over a homestead there and begun creating ghouls. We are heading there now so ready your weapons," Alucard said. Seras nodded and focused on her gun, loading extra ammunition into clips and stashing them away.

" Kagome," Alucard said with the most serious look on his face she'd ever seen, " Raven, please stay close. This should be as easy as breathing but I couldn't stand to lose you a second time. Be careful."

" I'll never leave your side, my vampire," she said as she laid a palm across his cheek, " and you'll never lose me again." He pressed in to her palm and let her see the almost paranoid worry he felt for her.

" Oh my sweet Vladimir how have they tormented you? What have you suffered since my death," She whispered ever so softly to him. he did not answer only close his every burning eyes. She could not help but cry inside herself for the anger and always present insanity she sensed. The moment passed and they arrived at their landing sight. As they departed the copter there were no signs of any feelings in the trio. Emotions that were easily read were a weakness and so cold and stone faced they approached the building, looking every bit the battle trained warriors they were.

* The target is in the building on the top floor. the other floors are filled with ghouls. You'll need to fight through them to reach their master* a soldiers voice called over the radio. Kagome turned hers off with a laugh.

" Will they ever tell us some thing we don't already know," she asked. She only got a small chuckle in response but she smiled any way before returning to her frozen mask. Alucard's mind was racing with thousands of battle strategies at once planning for victory and burning with the desire for a decent fight. Seras , new as she was, was worrying over the changes her body was going through and whether she'd be able to fight all her enemies when she could barely control her self. Kagome was an entirely different matter. Her mind was split in several different trains of thought. She was simultaneously considering the upcoming fight and plans of attack, the chances of walking away from this unharmed, and her revelation during her intense kiss.

She'd always known she felt safest with him, her Vladimir, but to realize she would truly allow her own death by his hands was a some what new thing. a new level of love that she had always felt but never defined. She knew in her heart that it wasn't so different from being willing to die for him it was just a new scenario of an already established truth. She would die for him, whether he held the blade or another did.

Deciding to focus more on that thought when she wasn't preparing for a massacre of unworthy swine, one who even dared to take a title that only her love had any right to, she brought her undivided attention to the door. Her eyes glowed as a seething rage and determination filled her, determination to see honor restored to her loves title.

With a small snarl of anger Kagome kicked in the door and drew her blade. With death in her eyes she raced down the hallway, rendering ghouls to ash in a scarily effective manner. Alucard, not to be out done, raced after her kicking up the ash of her victims and dispatching any that arrived after she'd passed. Seras followed and killed anything ghouls that were drawn to the commotion of her master and his mate. After a grueling couple of hours they'd reached the top, every ghoul in the building decimated in their wake. They were standing in the hall after having checked the rooms but found no vampire, considering the job 99.9 percent done Alucard turned and gave Kagome a smile.

" You were beautiful my dear," he said, " Police Girl you did well too. Now where could that little impost-"

He was interrupted by the sight of his blood bound child being riddled with gleaming bayonets.

" Seras," Kagome cried.

" She will be fine love. So long as she doesn't move over much," Alucard said sniffing the air and growling.

" Hello Papist," he said his voice low and full of mockery.

" Heathen," a tenor voice hissed.

" The proper term is Vampire. I swear these days people can be so rude. I guess they let just anyone be a priest now," Kagome snapped.

"Oi lass, What are ye' doin' here," the man asked.

" Don't address me so informally. I'm here to kill the fake vampire in charge of all the ghouls we just killed," she hissed.

" The only vampire left here is the monster next to yeh," he smirked.

" Who are you? why are you here," Seras ground out around the blade in her throat.

" Police Girl don't speak," Alucard ordered her.

" mah name is Alexander Anderson, priest of the Iscariot," the priest answered. He and Alucard stared each other down, each growing more and more aggressive the longer the moment stretched.

" Anderson you should leave," Kagome said her blade pointed at him, the sharp point drawing a bead of blood from his throat.

" Silly lass, I'll end this heathen and free you from his evil ways," Anderson yelled and drew his bayonets back to throw.

" You won't take her away from me! I lost her once, I WILL NOT LOSE HER AGAIN," Alucard roared. He struck out against the bayonets which managed to hit him and leveled his gun between Anderson's eyes. with a snarl he fired off a round into the Irish priest's skull. Anderson hit the ground hard as Alucard turned back to Kagome a maniacal grin on his face.

" well that was easy. let's go ba-," he said, the last part of his sentence going unheard.

Kagome was to deafened by the sharp ringing in her ears and the sudden spray of warmth that covered her neck and chest. The world slid out of focus and only panic filled her thoughts.


	7. and find myself a torrent of fire

The panic that gripped her was as fierce as it had been when she had died to save him. A cold unfeeling monster that attacked from within. It was an instinctual reflex that had her catching his severed head, the gushing feeling of his blood soaking her arms making the world falter just a little bit more. There was a distant sort of rumbling around her as an unholy fury joined her panic. Black fire sparked and spread from where she stood, her pale form now the epicenter of a seething inferno. Only one thought seemed to register in her frenzied thoughts,

' Burn him to the ground'

Anderson stood, his bayonets covered in Alucards blood, and watched the roaring blaze race towards him as though it were sentient. He had a wide grin plastered on his face and wiped the blades clean with Alucards coat.

" Now lass," he said with a chuckle, " there's no need for hysteria." All that made it through the static in her ears was his laughter , adding more fuel to the fire. The inferno, grew, shifted into something else. Where once was only fire was now a torrent of darkness and death. Anderson turned tail and fled, unknowing of how to deal with such burning, but she followed after and brought with her the blaze of hell. She was a hurricane of grief and rage with only her prey in mind now. The building burned behind her, weak mortal substance that it was, and crumbled to ash and ember. Seras tried to reach her but was badly burned by the devouring blackness. She followed her master's mate, unsure of what else to do. They reached the stairs, Kagome in no hurry and Anderson in a panic.

Kagome was solely focused on her fleeing target when a small voice whispered in her mind.

" Kagome...raven..." it called so quiet she barely heard it. The mad priest was all that mattered. He had to die, the whisper was nothing.

" Raven...RAVEN! Do not ignore me!" the voice growled louder. Loud enough that it echoed softly down in to the darkness and called to her sorrowful broken self.

" Vla-Vladimir, but you're dead," she wept, the tears splashing into the pool below her mental self.

" No not dead, I can't die remember. I'm only sleeping," he whispered. Despite his reassurance that he did in fact live, her ire did not subside. Black fire only shifted to blue but consumed ever more of the manor. Even on the third floor they could now see the night sky lit up now by fire. Anderson turned feeling cornered and drew his bayonets ready to strike at one chased him.

It was that moment that a familiar soprano broke through the din of the roaring fire.

" I believe that girl belongs to me,"Integra called out.

Kagome and Seras turned to face the voice. Seras in a hope that the woman could break Kagome from her state. Kagome turned to asses a new threat, eyes blank and seeing no friends.

" Well aren't you just a riot," the priest sneered.

" Sir," Seras gasped around the hole in her throat, looking to the blonde she obeyed.

" Integra," Kagome said in a dead voice, barely recognizing the woman.

" Anderson, where is Alucard," Integra asked her voice cold as steel.

" I killed him, cut off his head," the man said with a laugh.

Integra only grinned as the room slowly grew darker and filled with bats. Bats the rather quickly took the form of a man. The head that Kagome still held in her arms dissolved as well and her arms fell, the sluggish drips of blood from her fingertips accelerating her fire like gasoline.

" You fucked up," a deep baritone called out as the amorphous mas settled into the solid form of a man. Kagome gave a gasp upon seeing him but was to numb , to focused on her prey to move.

" H-How," the priest asked.

" Because I can, rotte," Alucard snarled. Anderson felt a flicker of fear and activated his emergency escape, disappearing in a torrent of bible pages. Alucard gave a growl and turned to his distraught love.

" You my love, will NEVER ignore my voice again," he growled as he lifted her eyes to meet his. The ocean of fire, which had parted ways for him and him alone, died away until only embers remained and she whispered an apology with a sob.

With a dangerous look on his face he captured her lips in a bruising kiss, a tear rolling down her cheek and a blood drop falling from her chin. His fangs caught her bottom lip and cut it, though she couldn't careless. Her beloved was alive and whole. she pushed her despair and anger into the claiming kiss and he banished it to tartarus with his dark love for her.

They parted for air with the sound of helicopter blades in their ears, their ride having just arrived. Kagome pulled the last bayonet from Sera's back and they boarded the craft ready to return home. The flight was still and mostly quiet, Integra already having the information she needed. Kagome was entrapped in Alucard's arms her eyes still red from the tears she had cried in the center of that inferno. Seras watched her master and felt both acceptance and jealousy. She knew she would never get comfort from her master like his beloved but she wished she could. She told that part of her to shut its face and focused on being happy for her master.

When they finally arrived back at Hellsing manor, Alucard bid everyone good morning and fled to his rooms, a sleeping Kagome in his grip. Every one shared a small chuckle and parted ways eager to escape to their beds.


	8. i am reforged in its black ire

Days passed in a typical manner for Hellsing. They fought fake vampires, killed ghouls and went about their business. It continued like this until the day of the monthly gathering of the round table. The gathering of knights charged to protect the world from the supernatural. It began much like other meeting, threats, bribes and headaches all round. The current committee of knights were a pompous arrogant group of elder men who looked down on Integra for being both young and a woman.

They gathered in the third floor conference room and locked the doors so as not to be disturbed. They were in discussion about the budget the mansion gave a violent shudder and gun fire rang through air.

" What in the world is going on," he barked as if the answer would make its self know by falling from the ether.

" It would seem , Sir Reginald, that the manor is under some type of attack," Integra snarked as she called the security desk.

" You'd better get us out of this," Reginald growled.

Integra groaned internally and waited for the captain to answer and give his report. The voice that did pick up the phone was not Captain Davidson.

" Soldier, give your name and the situation report," Integra sighed.

" This Private Charles sir, we're under siege. Ghouls ha-AHHH," the guard yelled as the line went dead. Growling she called a second extension, this time to Walter's personal line.

" Walter I'm locked in with the committee. I need you to put the men in order and then make your way to my position," She ordered.

" There are none of the soldiers left ma'am, Shall I set Alucard upon them," Walter asked.

" No, Alucard is to stay in his room. He comes with to much collateral damage and i'd like my manor to still be standing when this is done. You Seras and Kagome will have to do what you can," Integra said.

" Very well, I shall come to your side as quickly as I may," Walter answered.

Getting down to the dungeons was much easier than getting up to the third floor would be. He had already been heading in that direction with dinner. he reached the rooms that Alucard occupied rather easily, only to find that Seras and kagome were already there.

" good you're all here," he said cheerily, and then relaid the situation in the manor and Integra's unfortunate position. Kagome thought for a moment, trying to build a plan , and then spoke.

" Walter," she began ," you and Sera get to Integra's side, clear as many ghouls as you can. Alucard you stay down as sir has ordered, if there is more than one vampire behind this then I'm sure at least one will come to find you. I'll find the one vampire we know is here and deal with any ghouls I come across as I come across them."

" very well, Miss Victoria if you would kindly follow me, we'll be going now," Walter said leading the blonde from the room. Alucard gave a low growl and pulled Kagome into a crushing embrace.

" You know I must darling," she whispered, " Fear not, I will show these name stealing fools why they once feared the shadows." Alucard tightened his hold for a moment and gave her a blinding kiss. With a mental command that she was not to die he released her and phased to an unused room in the dungeons. Kagome traced her finger tip over her lips and smirked as she walked out into the hall, her steps becoming more predatory as she walked.

She found her way quickly to the largest gathering of ghouls, suspecting their vampire to be among them. Drawing her sword she stepped forward purposefully and with a hunters grace.

" Well you lot are a rather rude bunch, Intruding in houses that aren't yours," She said with a sibilant hiss. With a roar and quite a bit of effort she rampaged the hall killing every ghoul that stepped within her range. The spirits of the poor souls she freed lingered only long enough to give her their thanks before fading away to be judged. She climbed the stairs slowly catching her breath and wiping the light sheen of sweat from her forehead.

Walter and Integra were advancing on the wounded vampire before them when Kagome came up the stairs behind him. Walter spotted her first but it was Sera who reacted. She drew her weapon on Kagome and was subsequently taken out by a blow to the head.

" Miss Kagome, Alucard will be pleased to see you well," Walter chirped.

" I dare say he will," she responded as she captured the vampire from behind with her sword at his throat.

" Where the hell did you come from," the injured fake asked.

" hell, yes that is what you mortals call it these days," Kagome quipped, " you really shouldn't be so rude. I disabled that little fire started device with ease. There will be no bonfire tonight."

Slowly the realization dawned on him and fear grew in his eyes.

" Yes," she smirked, " you'll be left to our tender mercies for as long as you nigh immortal life lasts."

" Now tell me vampire," Integra said in her cold lord voice, "who sent you?"

" Millennium! It's a group of some kind of doctors! We got the orders via letters. I don't know anything else," he spilled.

" We? Who else is here Jan," Kagome growled.

" My brother Luke," he answered.

" Where is he," she asked, knowing that a second vampire had been a possibility.

" Down stairs, his mission was Alucard," he said quickly.

" For your honesty, I'll grant you a swift death," Kagome smiled. He only had the chance to blank in horror before he was consumed in the blue fire of his detonation device. Kagome gave Integra a smile before she walked heading to the dungeons.

Down stairs, Alucard was growing terribly bored. He and the blonde fake had been trading shot for ten minutes now and Alucard was disappointed. It seemed that all this fake had to offer was speed and good aim. He'd just fired at the little shit for the umpteenth time when he felt a familiar chill settle in the room. His already insane grin stretched even wider as he heard a echoing giggle bounce along the walls.

" Do you feel that fake? Can you feel death in the air," Alucard taunted.

Luke paused questioning until he recognized that he could see his breath in the air.

" What going on here, you think a little chill will stop me," the blonde snarked.

" Hmmm, I wonder if you can hear them screaming," Alucard asked, deciding a little mind fuckery never hurt, and really never would since the fake was going to die anyway.

" You must be mad! I don't hear a thing," Luke growled, trying to hide the quiver of fear in his voice. Alucard smirked and shot through Luke's left knee, the entry and exit wounds large enough to sever the limb. Luke screamed bloody murder and Alucard laughed darkly.

" Shame really, it does make such a pleasant backdrop to this little scene," he grinned as he repeated the shot on the right knee. Luke screamed with a fresh wave of pain and felt the terrible coldness of death reaching for him. A life time of regret filled his mind as he watched black dogs sprout from Alucards very body. Distantly he heard the imagined screams of millions of souls as the dogs ripped into him, taking his life.

Kagome entered the room as Luke's last desperate cry was fading from the room. She gave a chirp of laughter when she saw Alucard, wide grin on his face and his hair sticking up in odd places. She bounded forward and embraced her beloved with a smile. Alucard was startled by the sudden hug, having been relishing in his kill. When he realized it was Kagome he placed a kiss on the top of her head and lifted her into a bridal carry and made his way to Integra's office, despite her grumbling that she could walk herself there.

When they reached the office where the others had gathered he set her on her feet and started checking her over for injuries. She only smiled and sighed patiently as his fingertips brushed over one cut or another she'd received.

" Darling, you know as well as I do I'm not hurt," She whispered, lowly so only he could hear. Alucard only smirked and continued checking her over, using any excuse to touch her.


End file.
